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Northern Ireland and Rep. of Ireland should be one team


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Old 23-06-2016, 01:11
Paace
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Time to end this farce of having two teams from the small island of Ireland . It works in Rugby Union and I can't see why it can't work with the soccer teams . Ireland would then have a bigger choice of players and a stronger team . Time for the soccer authorities in Ireland to unite .

BTW have they ever faced each other in either European or World cup ?
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Old 23-06-2016, 01:15
Eurostar
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Time to end this farce of having two teams from the small island of Ireland . It works in Rugby Union and I can't see why it can't work with the soccer teams . Ireland would then have a bigger choice of players and a stronger team . Time for the soccer authorities in Ireland to unite .

BTW have they ever faced each other in either European or World cup ?
Never in a tournament. Strangely, 2016 is the first time both teams have qualified for the same tournament.

They have met in qualifiers though, three times between the late 1970s and mid 1990s.
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Old 23-06-2016, 01:37
Jason C
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They have met in qualifiers though, three times between the late 1970s and mid 1990s.
I seem to recall that the Republic only qualified for the 1994 World Cup after scoring a late equaliser in their last match against the North.
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Old 23-06-2016, 02:51
Eurostar
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I seem to recall that the Republic only qualified for the 1994 World Cup after scoring a late equaliser in their last match against the North.
That was the (in)famous game in a very hostile atmosphere in Belfast where Alan McLoughlin equalised with about 10 minutes to go to put the Republic through.
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Old 23-06-2016, 03:39
WhoAteMeDinner
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I remember it well, a friend of mine was "up there" in Windsor Park that night and he said they were terrified leaving the ground. Thought they would be strung up by loyalist thugs.

So basically, all-Ireland football team, no thanks.
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Old 23-06-2016, 07:45
ags_rule
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Nah, the two teams have developed two separate identities. All sorts of other issues with whether all games are played in Dublin or Belfast, what anthem is played etc.

It is worthwhile noting as well that, contrary to popular belief, the NI football team actually have their roots in the original pre-partition, all Ireland team, while the ROI team are the "breakaway" faction. The IFA (Northern Ireland's governing body) were the original one for the whole island - the FAI are the breakaway body.
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Old 23-06-2016, 08:34
pete137
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Religion strikes again. The sooner people realise that kicking a football around on a field should have NOTHING to do with the religion the better the world will be. To the bigots, Its ok if its a rugby ball, a golf ball or a cricket ball though,thats fine for a united Ireland, just not a football. Thats how stupid the "rules" are. It will never happen though, not in my lifetime.
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Old 23-06-2016, 08:44
Nathers7
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Sure. England, Wales and Scotland can be one team too
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Old 23-06-2016, 08:51
batdude_uk1
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Sure. England, Wales and Scotland can be one team too
The Great Britain side for the Olympics was quite good I thought, I liked that idea, shame that due to politics it will most likely never see the light of day again.
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Old 23-06-2016, 10:10
Paace
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Nah, the two teams have developed two separate identities. All sorts of other issues with whether all games are played in Dublin or Belfast, what anthem is played etc.

It is worthwhile noting as well that, contrary to popular belief, the NI football team actually have their roots in the original pre-partition, all Ireland team, while the ROI team are the "breakaway" faction. The IFA (Northern Ireland's governing body) were the original one for the whole island - the FAI are the breakaway body.
There are no other issues . The whole of Ireland are happy to support an all Ireland rugby team and an all Ireland athletics team etc . I bet it would be the same for soccer .

Imagine if they both reached the final, then people would see it for the farce it is .
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Old 23-06-2016, 10:17
gemma-the-husky
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its all to do with keeping the home nations separate in FIFA, I should think.
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Old 23-06-2016, 10:21
Deep Purple
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The ROI dont need NI, because they traditionally take Englands leftovers.
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Old 23-06-2016, 10:23
hiawatha
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Would love to see them as one team.
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Old 23-06-2016, 10:37
Nathers7
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There are no other issues . The whole of Ireland are happy to support an all Ireland rugby team and an all Ireland athletics team etc . I bet it would be the same for soccer .

Imagine if they both reached the final, then people would see it for the farce it is .
People here like having an NI team to support at international level (just look at the amount of support in France, if you asked those fans practically all of them would say no to the unity suggestion). Personally I support the all Ireland rugby team but I don't have the same affinity for it that I do for the NI football team. At the end of the day, we're separate countries and we're not linked provincially like we are in rugby. Seeing our wee country play in a major tournament is awesome and I wouldn't like to see it change.
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Old 23-06-2016, 12:16
Eurostar
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Religion strikes again. The sooner people realise that kicking a football around on a field should have NOTHING to do with the religion the better the world will be. To the bigots, Its ok if its a rugby ball, a golf ball or a cricket ball though,thats fine for a united Ireland, just not a football. Thats how stupid the "rules" are. It will never happen though, not in my lifetime.
I think religion has nothing to do with it tbh, it's much more to do with differences over national identity. NI Protestants regard themselves as British and NI Catholics as Irish, but it's not their religion that is the issue, but their political and cultural identity.
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Old 23-06-2016, 12:17
ags_rule
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People here like having an NI team to support at international level (just look at the amount of support in France, if you asked those fans practically all of them would say no to the unity suggestion). Personally I support the all Ireland rugby team but I don't have the same affinity for it that I do for the NI football team. At the end of the day, we're separate countries and we're not linked provincially like we are in rugby. Seeing our wee country play in a major tournament is awesome and I wouldn't like to see it change.
I agree with this. I obviously support the Irish rugby team but there are issues with it - the anthem is The Soldier's Song (Ireland's Call is not always played) and the matches take place in Dublin, which is not the capital city of my country.

The fact is that there are two different identities on this island, and thankfully we are at a stage now where the vast majority of people accept that and get on well with the 'other side'. I will support the ROI team no matter who they play, unless it's NI obviously, and I know many southerners who would do the same for us.

Just because we are on the same island does not mean we need to be in the same football team. As the earlier poster said, why not have a combined GB team of Scotland England and Wales if that is the logic?

Hope to see NI and ROI go as far as they can!
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Old 23-06-2016, 14:57
Mandark
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Isn't there also an issue about the structure of the game itself. Aren't all four home nations on the rules committee? Britain would lose influence if one nation dropped out. If Ireland was allowed on as part of a joint Irish association, then other nations might demand a place.
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Old 23-06-2016, 16:05
Black Hugh
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This was discussed on TalkBack today on Radio Ulster. One big stumbling blockaway, from traditional politics, is that the IFA and FIA have 4 teams that qualify for Europe. An All Ireland team would coincide with an All Ireland league which would see that halved. Neither body wants that.
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Old 23-06-2016, 16:07
Black Hugh
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I think religion has nothing to do with it tbh, it's much more to do with differences over national identity. NI Protestants regard themselves as British and NI Catholics as Irish, but it's not their religion that is the issue, but their political and cultural identity.
There would have to be a new anthem, and possibly a new flag, to accommodate both sets of supporters. Unlikely to happen from either side
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Old 23-06-2016, 16:23
Mandark
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This was discussed on TalkBack today on Radio Ulster. One big stumbling blockaway, from traditional politics, is that the IFA and FIA have 4 teams that qualify for Europe. An All Ireland team would coincide with an All Ireland league which would see that halved. Neither body wants that.
Yes there would be less UEFA money to go around.
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Old 23-06-2016, 16:44
carnoch04
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UEFA/FIFA would never allow it. Where would it end? Joint Belgium/Netherlands team? How about a joint Scandanavian team? Uruguay/Argentina? USA/Mexico?
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Old 23-06-2016, 16:44
celesti
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One of the issues with a Team GB football team in 2012 was that the respective FAs were worried that UEFA or whoever might try to push it through as a proper national team and then four individual entities (and importantly, votes) become just one. Outside of any political or religious issue, this would make it a no-go for the Irelands also.
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Old 23-06-2016, 17:08
batdude_uk1
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UEFA/FIFA would never allow it. Where would it end? Joint Belgium/Netherlands team? How about a joint Scandanavian team? Uruguay/Argentina? USA/Mexico?
If we were to go down that road, I would have thought it more likely to be USA and Canada.
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Old 23-06-2016, 17:49
Nova21
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If we were to go down that road, I would have thought it more likely to be USA and Canada.
I would say Spain, England and Gibraltar
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Old 23-06-2016, 17:55
carnoch04
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If we were to go down that road, I would have thought it more likely to be USA and Canada.
I think the USA might be looking to improve their prospects. Not sure Canada would do that!
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